Maybe not thinking so much about my weight—or constantly analyzing everything I eat—is actually the way to go.
Today’s Sunday weigh-in came in at 269.8 pounds, down from 271.2 pounds last week.
I’ll take it!
It’s another small step, but it’s a step in the right direction. And after the last few weeks, seeing a number beginning with 26 instead of 27 felt pretty good.
The interesting thing is that I didn’t spend this past week obsessing about losing weight. I didn’t count every calorie. I didn’t follow a strict meal plan. I certainly didn’t have a great week in the gym.
I just lived my life.
And maybe there’s a lesson in that.
August Is Just Hard
I’ve said it before, but August is a difficult month for me.
Fall camp brings my summer schedule to an abrupt end. The days get longer, there’s more work to do, and I’m spending considerably more time on my feet and out on the practice field.
By the end of the day, planning and preparing a healthy meal isn’t always high on my list of things I want to do.
That’s when I tend to fall back on what’s easy.
Sandwiches. Chips. Something sweet to drink. I’ve been drinking Arnold Palmers more often instead of soda, and while they may have a little less sugar depending on the variety, I also know that doesn’t magically turn them into water!
Still, there’s something else I’ve noticed.
Even though my eating hasn’t been perfect, I’m not necessarily eating huge amounts of food. I’m busy. I’m moving. I’m spending more time on my feet. I’m not sitting around thinking about what I’m going to eat next.
Maybe some of those things are helping.
The Gym Is Another Story
My gym schedule during fall camp has pretty much fallen off the rails.
Could I find 30 minutes somewhere in my day?
Probably.
That’s where I have to be truthful with myself. It’s not necessarily that I don’t have time to work out.
Sometimes I simply don’t want to.
After spending a couple of hours standing and walking around a football practice field, heading to the gym doesn’t sound particularly appealing. Going home, getting something to eat, and relaxing sounds much better.
I know what the standard answer is.
Self-discipline. Consistency. No excuses.
And they’re right.
Eventually, I need to become better at doing things even when I don’t feel like doing them. That’s one of the areas where I still have work to do.
But I’m also beginning to wonder if I’ve sometimes made exercise too much of an all-or-nothing proposition.
If I don’t feel like doing a full workout, could I do 20 minutes?
If I don’t want to go to the gym, could I take a walk?
Could I do some squats, push-ups, or other exercises at home?
Something is better than nothing.
Maybe developing that mindset is more important than beating myself up because I missed another workout.
Normal Is Coming Back
I have one more week before school starts and life begins returning to something resembling my normal routine.
I’m looking forward to that.
My mornings should become more predictable again. I can get back to regular workouts. I can do a better job planning meals and making sure I have something ready when I get home instead of waiting until I’m tired and hungry to decide what I’m going to eat.
That doesn’t mean everything suddenly becomes easy.
Fall sports always bring plenty of work. There will still be long days. There will still be mornings when I don’t feel like working out and evenings when grabbing something on the way home sounds much easier than making dinner.
The difference is that I know those moments are coming.
I can prepare for them instead of being surprised by them.
Stop Chasing Perfect
Maybe that’s one of the bigger lessons I’m learning from this journey.
I keep thinking I need to discover the perfect routine.
The perfect diet.
The perfect workout schedule.
The perfect amount of motivation.
I’m beginning to think none of those things exist.
What I need is a lifestyle that works reasonably well when life is going smoothly and still works when life gets messy.
Some weeks I’ll get to the gym four times.
Other weeks I might make it once.
Some days I’ll eat exactly the way I planned.
Other days dinner might be a sandwich.
That’s life.
The important thing is making sure that one imperfect decision doesn’t become permission to quit.
240 Is Still the Goal
This morning the scale said 269.8 pounds.
My goal remains 240.
That’s still almost 30 pounds away, so there’s plenty of work ahead of me. But for the first time in a few weeks, I’ve broken back through that 270-pound barrier.
Now I’d like to leave it behind.
I can picture myself weighing 240 pounds.
I can picture my clothes fitting differently. I can picture moving more easily. I can picture feeling better about what I’ve accomplished.
Visualizing it is the easy part.
My actions have to eventually match the picture I have in my head.
That’s where the work comes in.
This journey isn’t always going to be sunshine and roses. There will be frustrating weeks, missed workouts, fast-food meals, vacations, busy days, and disappointing numbers on the scale.
There will also be mornings like today when the scale moves in the right direction and reminds me that I’m still making progress.
269.8.
Baby steps?
Absolutely.
But baby steps taken consistently still move you forward.
And right now, forward is exactly where I want to go.